Pete's Walks- Coombe Hill, Bacombe Hill, Little Hampden (page 1 of 4)
If you are considering walking this route yourself, please see my disclaimer. You may also like to see these notes about the maps and GPX files.
I did this 7 mile circular walk on Saturday, 2nd September 2023. It was a repeat of a walk I did in February 2022 which I decided not to add to this website, as I wasn't sure whether one path I used was actually a public right of way or not (I've since seen that it's a permissive path). That had been a new route for me, with almost half of it on paths or bridleways I'd not walked before.
Having parked in the car park on Coombe Hill (Grid reference SP852063), I started walking about 9.15am (the car park was already almost full). I went through the gate by the entrance to the car park and turned left, along a path with small trees and a garden boundary on my left. After a hundred yards or so there were trees to my right, and when these ended I turned right. I was now on an attractive section of the Ridgeway national trail, with a steep slope dropping down on my left. Unfortunately the normally far reaching views ahead across the Vale of Aylesbury were limited this morning by the rather misty conditions. On reaching the Boer War monument on Coombe Hill, I turned right and followed the Ridgeway (white acorn signs) towards Bacombe Hill. After a while I went through gates either side of a sunken lane, continuing on with small trees and bushes either side. By an information board, the Ridgeway turned left, turning right immediately to continue in more or less the same direction as before. There was then a very pleasant section as the path gradually descended Bacombe Hill - again the views were rather obscured, but there were patches of blue sky appearing by the time I reached the bottom of the hill.
Near the start of the path from the car park on Coombe Hill, following the trees on the left
The path on Coombe Hill, after I turned right
The path on Coombe Hill, after I turned right
View of Beacon Hill from Coombe Hill
The Boer War monument on Coombe Hill
Misty view from Coombe Hill
The Ridgeway continuing on Coombe Hill
The Ridgeway on Coombe Hill
The Ridgeway now on Bacombe Hill
Misty view from Bacombe Hill
The Ridgeway on Bacombe Hill
The Ridgeway on Bacombe Hill
The Ridgeway on Bacombe Hill
As I got to the bottom of the hill, I took a path going left (shortly before I'd have reached a gate across the path). The fingerpost at this junction was hidden behind a bush on the right, so I nearly missed the turning. The path (this was the start of the section I'd walked for the first time in February 2022) started with a wire fence and hedge on my right. It soon passed what looked like an old quarry or pit on the left then, after going through a gate, turned slightly left. The path then continued for about a mile along the foot of the northern side of Bacombe Hill, running just inside a wood sloping steeply up to my left.
The start of the path along the foot of Bacombe Hill (the fingerpost is behind me, hidden by a bush or tree)
An old quarry at the foot of Bacombe Hill
The path along the foot of Bacombe Hill
The path along the foot of Bacombe Hill
The path along the foot of Bacombe Hill
The path along the foot of Bacombe Hill